Welcome to the Fishing Report. It is sunny and cool this morning in Townsend. But, it is going to heat up and stay that way for a few days, just in time for Easter weekend. The high today will be 75 degrees and we’ll climb to the low 80’s tomorrow and Friday. Wow!

Little River looks spectacular though the water is higher than normal. Today the flow is 627 cubic feet per second (cfs) and normal for this date is 330 cfs. But, there is hardly any chance for rain over the next few days so the water level will drop. The temperature will rise.

The water was cooler this morning in town than it was yesterday. I checked about an hour ago and the temperature was 45 degrees. It will be cooler than that in the Park. So, you will enjoy better fishing this afternoon. The temperature at night is going to be warmer over the next few days so you will see the water get warmer and stay warmer. That will really help the fishing in the Park. Fishing is going to be really good for a while.

Trout are feeding and taking dry flies. Use gray colored mayflies such as Quill Gordons and Blue Quills. You may see some Blue Wing Olives too. The trout might take other patterns too, but these flies are the ones that are hatching in larger numbers right now.

I don’t know how crowded the Park will be this weekend. I looked at our business on the Friday and Saturday before Easter last year. We were busy but not over-run with customers. We had some heavy rain last Easter weekend. The water was high. That won’t be the case this weekend. So, I’m expecting business to be good and anglers to be fishing.

You might want to consider a day in the backcountry to get away from people. Lynn Camp Prong is closed to fishing due to the brook trout restoration project up there. That is where I would usually go to get away from people. So, if you are fishing on this side of the Park I would hike upstream from the Elkmont Campground. The hike is easy and you can be miles from your truck fairly quickly. Consider Fish Camp Prong. I love that place. I like fishing on the West Prong of the Little River back near Campsite 18. Or you might travel up to the Chimneys area and fish on the West Prong of the Little Pigeon. The water will be cooler up there but fishing should be fine. You have many choices thanks to the warmer weather.

Abrams Creek above the Falls is not really an option unless you hike in from the Abrams Creek Campground. That is a long hike. It’s pretty though.

In about an hour I’m going to Laurel Lake with Mark from the Little River Watershed Association. He is the executive director. We are looking at ways to raise money and re-build the 50 acre lake. I really hope this can be done. The property is owned by the County and in addition to the lake there are about 50 more acres that could be used as a park. The cost will exceed $1 million. We’ll see what happens. I’m not giving up on this one.